July 20

Today we hopped in GREAT Aunt Maggie's van (which may have drawn Chris over to the dark side - the side of minivan owners) and drove to Columbia to celebrate Chris' grandmother's 80th birthday. 

Grandmother's Alzheimer's is progressing; when we saw her a few months ago, her memory seemed to be on a five-minute loop. Now, she will repeat herself every thirty seconds or so. At this point, even her children are strangers to her. But she is healthy, optimistic, and happy.  Though her memory is gone, her personality is mercifully intact. Today we saw that her love for little ones remains strong, and she still has a gift for connecting with children.

She didn't know that Daisy was her great-granddaughter, and every few minutes someone reminded her that Daisy was Daisy Kathleen, after her. But oh, how she adored Daisy! And the adoration was mutual - if Daisy had napped at all today, I'm sure they would have been inseparable. As it was, they played games across the table.

Grandmother, making silly faces at Daisy. Though Daisy looks skeptical here, she soon began laughing.

Chris and Daisy, giggling at Grandmother.

This sweet girl. At first, she only wanted me.

Once she warmed up, though, she spent some quality snuggle time with Caleb. That goofy overbite smile is a sign that he was really, really happy. Do you see how he's wrapped his arm around her and is holding on tight? Do you see her grip on his shirt? This was some serious snuggling. Too sweet!

The birthday girl. Even at 80, she is still lovely.

She also still has her notorious sweet tooth. Her eyes lit up when she saw the birthday cake, and when we said that it was for her, she beamed.

Meanwhile, Daisy's clever Grandmother brought books and toys for the kiddos. You can tell she's a seasoned, professional mom!

Maggie and her oldest, Matt. They are so sweet. I can't even begin to think about Caleb being a grown man some day. But when that day comes, I pray that he will snuggle me like that. (tearing up a bit here...)

Curse this yucky lighting - I really wanted some better pictures from today.

Kathleen; her firstborn, Dan; his firstborn, Chris; and his first- and second-born children. Pretty cool, huh?